Photographer Bev Davies has been a staple in the Vancouver music scene for quite a few years... I have met Bev on a few occasions and was impressed with how humble she is... I was so happy when she agreed to do an interview with me for Punk Globe.

Can you tell the readers a bit about yourself Bev?

My name is Bev. and I am Canadian. I grew up in Ontario, and went to art school in Toronto for one year until I dropped out and moved to Yorkville (the hippy section of Toronto in 1965). I was part of the local scene, until I moved to Vancouver in 1968. I had a desire to take photos, and did from time to time but I could not keep a camera for long. I am an only child, both of my parents were potters and my dad’s bother was a commercial artist until he retired so in my family wanting to be an artist was an accepted direction for me. I stayed in Vancouver, went to Vancouver School of Art (now Emily Carr University of Art + Design) for four years graduating in Print Making. Raised my son and worked in the printing and design industry and found punk rock in 1979.

Bev, am I right saying you were around back in the early days of Vancouver punk?

Yes I was around, I missed some of the early days. The Ramones song, Wanna Be Sedated on a local TV show spoke to me. I wanted more. I went to see D.O.A. Mar 24, 1979 and that was it. I looked around, thought what can I do in this D.I.Y. scene and taking photos was what I could do. I had a camera, darkroom and the next show I took my camera. I printed photos and took them to the next show and gave them away. I thought it was important to share the images with the people in the photos. This was pre internet so best way to share was give them away.

Tell us a bit about the scene back then?

The scene was good music, good friends and a sense of community. In 1980 I went to the Western Front Punk Festival in San Fransisco. D.O.A., The Young Canadians, and The Modernettes also came to this event. I began to feel the power of this musical movement and the west coast interconnection. Our Vancouver scene belonged to a collection of scenes that stretched up and down the west coast as well as other music scenes dotted all over the U.S.A.

What were the main clubs in the early days of Vancouver

By the time I started taking photos the Quadra club, The Japanese Hall, and the Windmill were closed. The Smilin’ Buddha, Gary Taylor’s Rock Room, were some of the clubs by spring 1979. Also the local show promotor Perryscope Concerts brought concerts acts into larger venues and had local bands open for these acts. This was a showcase for our local scene, bands that included pop bands, punk bands and art bands.

At what age did you realize that you wanted to be a photographer.

I had always known I wanted to be an artist, from the age of a young child. The idea of being a photographer was just a way of keeping what I had seen. If I was a writer I would have been keeping notes. Photographs are my notes. I went back to art school for a month summer 1977 and studied photography. That course led to me setting up a darkroom and now what seems like me waiting to find punk rock music.

Had you been photographing rock prior to the punk rock scene?

Well I did take some photos from time to time. In 1965 my friends The Paupers were opening for The Rolling Stones at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto. I had done their name on their drum head. The night before the show, they broke it and called me to bring ink and needed items to redo it back stage that day. I had my dad’s camera so I took it along with me. I redid their drum head and found myself back stage for the Stone’s concert. I took some photos there, and managed to hang onto those slides, nothing great really, but they gave me a real taste for something that I truly enjoyed.

What was the first punk show that you went to?

D.O.A. was playing just outside of Vancouver, in Burnaby. The poster said ‘thought you got rid of us eh?’ DOA at the Ukrainian Hall Mar 24, 1979. I went to that show. That was it I was hooked, I did not take a camera, but the next show I did.

I can imagine you were in demand by all the punk bands needing photos. Which bands did you photo.

Well I know what you are saying but to me, it was me asking them to let me take photos of them, group shots of the band. I did not have a car so most group shots were near where I lived. Subhumans on the steps of Vancouver city hall, Young Canadian in front of a wall that I liked near my house and DOA outside in the alley behind the Smiling’ Buddha. I really do not remember them asking for these to be taken, I just wanted to do that.

You were close to DOA in the early days. What other bands did you work closely with.

Well, Young Canadians, Modernettes, Subhumans as well as Black Flag and Dils (Rank and File), and X. It felt like a revolution was happening in music and I as a photographer wanted pictures of that revolution.

Tell us some of your favorite bands that you photographed.

Well DOA really, Randy Rampage was a joy to photograph, also kept me watching and anticipating when he would jump. Glorious it was to photograph DOA in those days.

Do you still shoot bands.

After the punk rock scene died away here. Others can talk to why, me I moved on and put my camera down. I say I fell asleep on the couch for 15 years, but it is more complicated than that, work and life got in the way. Gang shooting a the front of a large concert, no one to shoot for and get published or get a camera pass from. Complicated. I met Anton Newcombe from the Brian Jonestown Massacre, and there was something about his music that brought the love of taking photos back. Before then taking photos was who I had been, I wanted to be that person again. Last week I just got back from England were I went to photograph The Brian Jonestown Massacre at Shepherd’s Bush in London and the Ritz in Manchester. The friendship between me and a band is so much a part of my photography, loving the music is very important. Otherwise it is just butterfly collecting photos. Not sure if that will make sense to you the readers. Hope it does.

I know you released a calendar with Nardwaur. How did that come about.

I was at Joe Shithead’s yard sale. I asked him if I could bring a suitcase of prints to sell and he said yes, so I was sitting with the case open while people looked at the photos and asked questions, and in the case of Rampage and Brad carried on with funny stories. There was a quiet man looking though all the photos that I did not know. When he finished he said ‘I would like to interview you and he gave me his card. That was Nardwuar, out of costume and Nard voice. We set up a series of interviews. He would come to my place and we would look through photos and talk, he then would make a list of photos he wanted to interview me about, and we would meet again and he would do the interview. The finished interviews were appearing in several magazines.

It was those interviews and photos that became the 2007 calendar that was issued by Mint Records and Nardwuar. The interviews were done over a serious of a few years and spoke of who I had been as a photographer. By the time the calendar came out in sep 2006 for 2007 I was again that person who took photos.

There is a current calendar of my photos as liner notes for Nardwaur’s current vinyl ‘Busy Doing Nothing’ . The calendar has full page photos for all of 2013.

Have you released a book of your work?

That is an easy answer, no. I would love to have a book published. I want a book, I think the Vancouver scene deserves a book, my photos a book but the offer has not come, the image of the book is forming. I do not want a who’s who of rock music, that has been done much better than I could do, but my photos should be seen in a book. Tell your friends I WANT A BOOK. :)

Publishers: Bev wants a book deal ... Now ! Bev Can you tell the readers some books and magazines that have used your photography work.

Well will need to think. These are some I have on my book shelves. I, Shithead by Joe Keithley (Shithead), Talk - Action = 0 by Joe Keithley (Shithead), The Encyclopedia of Punk by Brian Cogan, The Eric Carr Story by Greg Pronto, MTV Ruled the word by Greg Pronto, Fucked Up and Photocopied by Bryan Ray Turcoutte, Punk is Dead Punk is Everything by Bryan Ray Turcoutte, Guilty of Everything by John Armstrong.

Magazines and fanzines, much harder to remember, I worked for the Georgia Straight here in Vancouver in the early 80’s and got as many punk rock photos of bands as possible into their publication as well as large touring acts such as Madonna, Bruce Springsteen, Iron Maiden - you get the idea. I also took photos for Damage Magazine, Slash Magazine, and countless zines

Just found this on NME site - http://www.nme.com/nme-video/youtube/id/lthgrzltQTE

You are friends of Susanne Tabata. I know that she credits you with helping her decide to make her movie ‘Bloodied But Unbowed’ Tell us about that?

In January 2007 I had a photo show at the Jem Gallery. The show was ‘144 Punk Rock Photographs 1979 to 1984’. The opening night was a who’s who of Vancouver punk scene, and Susanne Tabata was there. I think looking at those photos and talking to old friends put the idea, as a documentry film maker, to make a movie about the Vancouver punk scene. The movie is more than anyone could have expected and is a wonderful document to our time and place in the history of punk rock.

Are you happy for Susanne getting " Bloodied But Unbowed" out despite all the obstacles?

I am very happy with the movie Bloodied But Unbowed, it will stand the test of time, like a photo it is a document of it’s time, and looking back at a scene that was. She could have used more financial support, but once she decided to do this movie she made the best movie, I think much better than some others out of USA and England but that is me, I loved the music from here, and our scene.

Have you gotten into shooting video or film.

Video and film no I have not. I like to make choice and work a shutter, I like to pick my moments and push the shutter, those are my photos. I said in an interview with Susanne for Bloodied But Unbowed photo essay ‘I like the catch and release quality of photography’, can not think of another way of saying what I like about photography vs video or film.

You have had shows at the Jem gallery have you had shows anywhere else.

Yes I have had other shows. I had a large show at The Chapel Arts July and August 2009, it curated by the Jem gallery. Here is a review of the show Play it Loud. http://discorder.ca/discorder-magazine/index.php/2009/08/29/bev-davies-play-it-loud/

Last summer I had a show at the Waldorf Hotel in a box car outside the hotel. It was a collection of the pieces from the Play It Loud show.

I also worked on a play, Hardcore Logo as their punk historian, official photographer and presented a show of Black and White photos in the lobby of both their Edmonton Alberta 2 week run of the show and their Vancouver 2 week run at the Rickshaw Theatre.

I also had a one night show at the Vancouver Art Gallery in their freight elevator for FUSE night. The show in the elevator was part of a live theatre piece, with Michael Scholer Jr. spinning punk vinyl live and broadcasted live on Ustream with a live chat page to the broadcast.

What are your thoughts of the current Vancouver scene.

My thoughts mmmm a lot of very good bands, too few places to play. The large venues are run by promotors (Live Nation) who does not add local bands to the bill, the boarder is a deterrent for medium sized bands to come to Vancouver, one date here is not worth it for west coast bands to cross the boarder. I have seen and photographed some amazing shows here in Vancouver over the last few years, and yes there is a music scene here. I tend to go to what I can get my camera into and want to see. From Acid Mother’s Temple, to Beady Eye, to Black Angels and Black Lips. The really larger shows like Madonna, Rob Zombie and the Who if they come here I will not be there. I like taking a camera to the shows and being close, in the photo pit. There is a movie about the Vancouver clubs and bands called ‘No Fun City’ http://www.nofuncity.org/ tells the story of Vancouver current venues and bands quite well.

Any bands you would recommend?

Well I have moved to the large family of psychedelic bands, so my personal recommendations would come from there, The Brian Jonestown Massacre, Black Angels, Warlocks etc. I think the important thing is to be listening to music, buying music and going to shows, best not to get stuck, so when some one asks you what music you like, you say, music, well the Beatles. Now frig how safe is that eh? Live on the edge, lots of great music to listen to out there.

What clubs are happening in Vancouver? I loved the Cobalt.

Well that would be Wendythirteen who ran the Cobalt, a true place for bands to play, a club house really. Wendy was kicked out and has moved on, weekends at Funky Winkerbeans and shows popping up at Sound Fortune club. Also the Railway Club is having a few good shows at the real grass roots level and the Dental Lab, Iron Roads Studio also. Even with Facebook it is hard for me to keep track of the shows I might want to go to. The Rickshaw on East Hastings Street is a good independent venue. There are many more that come and go. The city of Vancouver got the name No Fun City for a reason.

do you have a website you would like to share with the readers?

Well yes, www.bevdavies.com but the best way to find me is google me. everything will come up, Flickr site, interviews, like today my video of my photos for eargoggles came up on the NME site under their videos.

Any words of advice for people wanting to get involved with photography?

Well just do it with all the energy and creative force you can find. Be kind to other photographers. Take photos of bands you love their music, that helps with the creative force thing. Do not give up your day job if you have one. Let people see your photos, share share share. Yes sometimes people will steal your images but that is the cost of this digital world. Figure out a way to keep your images and find them when you need them, I am still working on that hahaha. - bev.